Ligaments in the ankle can be injured when a greater than normal stretching force is applied to them. This can happen when the foot is turned inward or inverted. Once this type of injury occurs, the ankle can become instable for some period of time and the risk of re-injury is high. Repeated injuries can result in chronic ankle instability.
One solution that has been relatively successful in stabilizing the ankle against inversion is taping the ankle in a manner to prevent rotation of the foot in a direction that would strain the ligaments, particularly if they are already in a weakened condition Ankle taping includes three primary components: (1) anchor strips around the leg below the calf, (2) a heel lock at about a 45° angle, and (3) an ankle stirrup, which starts on one side of the ankle (for example, the medial side), goes under the arch of the foot, and back up the other side of the ankle (for example, the lateral side).
The application of adhesive tape by trainers or coaches can be expensive, however, both in terms of staff time and in terms of the quantity of tape applied and discarded. Furthermore, tape can loosen, be uncomfortable to remove, and/or leave a sticky residue. It can also be difficult to adjust the amount of compression or support provided by tape (that is, to loosen or tighten tape) after it has been applied.
To avoid these difficulties, numerous reusable ankle braces have been developed. Such ankle braces are typically secured to the ankle using laces, buckles, and/or hook and loop closures (for example, Velcro™). But, ankle braces comprising these types of closure systems tend to lose tension or loosen over time during use. For example, buckles can slide, laces can elongate, and hook and loop closures can loosen.